A recent study finds that obesity and overeating might be risk factors
for deadly pancreatic cancer, but eating certain vegetables might cut
that risk down by half. Pancreatic cancer kills more than 95 percent
of its victims, making it the fifth deadliest cancer in the United
States and the sixth deadliest in Europe. The disease is difficult to
detect because of its vague symptoms of abdominal aches. The cancer
is usually diagnosed only after it has spread, and patients live an
average of three months after diagnosis, reports Nature News Service.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., inter-
viewed 526 people with the disease, comparing lifestyles, dietary
habits and family history of cancer with those of people with similar
backgrounds who did not have the disease. Scientists found that over-
weight people who eat too much have a 70 percent greater chance of
developing the cancer.
However, eating more broccoli, cauliflower,
cabbage or other vegetables high in antioxidants might reduce that
risk by 50 percent. Smoking and old age are also known risk factors
for the disease, and exercise might be important in protecting against
the cancer. The research team published their findings in the journal
Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis and Mutagenesis.